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So yesterday I finally tried a trick that a roommate of mine told me about years ago. Every now and then the gas pump will just crawl. I’m talking when it takes about two minutes for each gallon to come out of the hose. I had that happen to me last night and I was expected at a friend’s house soon after, so I contemplated whether I should just put in $10, or even $5 for the night so I wouldn’t have to wait for an hour to finish pumping. Then I remembered something I’d heard from my old roommate Brian.

Stop the pump, lay the handle down on the ground for a bit, then pump again. Not really faithful in the new method, I didn’t keep it down too long, probably five seconds, then started pumping again. Bam! That sucker started pumping nice and fast. I filled right up and took off. Pretty awesome little trick. If I remember right, it has something to do with some type of bubble getting stuck in the hose somewhere. Lining it up like that gets rid of it I guess.

Comments (14)

Tom said on 12-12-2006

That’s a good trick. Or you could just get a car that doesn’t need to be filled up every week and doesn’t have a 55,000 gallon drum for a tank! hahahah. Sorry, I just wanted to say that for some reason.

Just tried this at a Petro Canada in Calgary, Alberta. Doesn’t work on modern pumps. Nice try.

Manager at Gas Station said on 11-06-2010

I am running a gas station and I have noticed everytime temp have dropped below 50 degree, pump would start running slow if they have not been occupied for a long time. I don’t know what causes pump to run slow in cold weather but one way to speed up the slow up is, stop pumping for 5 seconds then restart pumping. That usually fixes the problem.

If there a pump expert out there, please post a real solution to fix this problem.

Stew said on 12-18-2011

I work at a truck stop, an it is a very common problem especially with the diesel islands. What your roomate told you was correct. There is a pocket of air that gets trapped inside the hose and if you lay it on the ground for a few seconds it will start right back up.

gasgirl said on 10-08-2012

I’ve been working at a gas station for about a year now and this is a common problem. Every morning in the winter, I’m out there helping the first customer of the day get their gas pumping at the normal speed. Usually what works is taking the pump out of the car, waiting a few seconds, then putting it back in and starting to pump again.

It’s even more of a pain when there’s a few people there – you have to synchronize it so that no one is pumping for five or ten seconds or else it won’t speed up.

Sometimes the customers are pretty cranky about it, but I guess I don’t blame them – we open at 6am, so it’s kind of early for all that fooling around.

fredo said on 05-25-2013

So while at the pump this morning i had the slow gas problem. I googled the problem while i was pumping and it brought me to this page. I tried what you said and BAM that gas was flowing super fast! Thanks!

Tim Harnisch said on 01-13-2014

I manage a gas station and we have this same problem all winter long, but for us its not just first time in the morning, its happens throughout the day, ALOT. the stop pumping for 5-10 seconds works, but for us this almost requires someone to stand out there to babysit the pumps all day. Customers don’t really want to listen to the solution, they expect to just pull the trigger and get gas at full speed. If anyone has a full fix for this problem, I would love to hear it.

Cam said on 12-09-2014

Happened to me this cold morning. Do as these guys are saying. Take the pump out and put in on the ground. I also shook the line leading to the pump handle a bit. Worked like a charm!

karl smith said on 12-23-2014

Leak detector is going bad in pump sump. It recognizes a
Problem with pressure not being constant on the supply line
And restricts the flow of product to the dispenser to prevent
Excessive leakage into the containment sump.and from there
Into the ground and surrounding enviroment. It also could be doing its job and you have a breech in your piping.

Daniel said on 01-07-2015

IT WORKED THANK YOU IVE BEEN HERE FOR 10 minutes!

Karen said on 11-26-2015

OMG, this totally just worked! I M in Montana and current temp is 1 degree! Thanks for the tip!

Moe said on 12-08-2015

I have tried all this tricks it’s start working fast but in a sometimes no one is pumping outside at gas pumps and then it’s go back to the underground tank and create a same problem and dispensing gas really really slow every time the first customer come in.. Can anybody suggest me Wht should be the problem.. I have already did de commission and installed mechanical leak detector.. Also installed function valve too still facing same problem.

Samir said on 02-11-2016

We have a new station built in 2013 with Wayne Ovation pumps and have this issue, more in the winter than summer. Our solution to the customers is to stop pumping, remove nozzle completely from car, replace nozzle, start pumping again. It works all the time–except for Diesel. Diesel is just always slow (indicating some sort of issue with the leak detector or sump).

We’ve spent $750 with the local pump tech to install a ‘Red Jacket’, but that did nothing but waste $750. If there’s a competent pump tech out there that wants some business, please get in touch with me to help us fix this problem permanently.